Iraq insurgency worse than anticipated: Blair

"I didn't expect quite the same sort of ferocity from every single element in the Middle East that came in and was doing their best to disrupt the political process," Blair said when asked by BBC television if he had expected the task to be so difficult.

However, Blair said he would have taken the same decision now as before to join the US-led invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein because the future of Iraq was "crucial for our own security and for world."

Blair did not confirm a report in the Observer newspaper that Britain and the United States would present a document to the Iraqi parliament next month for British troops to begin withdrawing as early as May.

"I have not heard that," Blair said.

He said the report may just be referring to long-held discussions between the US-led coalition and Iraqi government about the level of multinational troop contributions as Iraq's own security capability grows.

"The timescale (for withdrawal) is when the job is done," Blair said.

He said the strategy has long been for Britain and other coalition partners to help Iraqi democratic institutions develop and allow Iraq to build up its own security forces so "we don't have to do it."

He also denied Britain had informed Japan that it was pulling out, as reported in the Observer.

"There's no arbitrary (pullout) date being set. The allies are all in the same position," he said.

The Observer reported that a blueprint to be presented next month to the Iraqi parliament will "lay out a point-by-point 'road map' for military disengagement by multinational forces," with the first steps possibly going into effect soon after the December polls.

Meanwhile, Britain's governing Labour Party kicked off its annual conference yesterday with everyone wondering just how long Prime Minister Tony Blair will stay on the job.

The divisive issue of Iraq also loomed large among Labour delegates in Brighton, on England's south coast, as a debate intensified over how much longer British troops should remain in the country.

Security was tighter than ever in the wake of the London bombings last July, with 1,300 police officers -- armed with unprecedented stop and search powers -- on duty in the otherwise laid-back seaside town.